By the time Lili and Jessie reached their hotel, Pattaya had already made one thing clear: the heat was going to participate in every decision.
It came through the balcony doors, settled on their shoulders and turned unpacking into a physical activity. Jessie placed her bag on the bed and reached for the first outfit that looked practical. Lili watched her for several seconds with the expression of someone witnessing a preventable accident.
Lili: You are wearing that?
Jessie: We are going to a market.
Lili: Exactly.
Jessie: What does that mean?
Lili: It means you look like you are going downstairs to complain about the Wi-Fi.
Lili had started with a fitted white button-front shirt and pale blue jeans. Then Pattaya entered the styling process. She tied the shirt at her waist, opened the top buttons for air and added a gold silk bandana over her hair. The knot sat high enough to expose her navel and a narrow strip of waist on each side. Her jeans were relaxed through the legs, slightly baggy, and low enough to make the entire combination look accidental.
Nothing about it was accidental.
She looked at Jessie again.
Lili: You will never meet anyone dressed like this.
Jessie: I thought we were buying food.
Lili: We can do two things.
Jessie surrendered. It was easier.
The Market Did the Rest
The afternoon market was part clothing store, part restaurant, part obstacle course. Shirts hung from metal frames. Woven bags covered entire walls. Fruit stalls appeared between racks of trousers as if someone had lost control of the floor plan years earlier and everyone had agreed to continue.
Lili began bargaining with a young shopkeeper over a bag she had already decided to buy.
Shopkeeper: Best price.
Lili: Everyone says best price.
Shopkeeper: For you, special best price.
Lili: That sounds more expensive.
Jessie stood beside her trying to look uninvolved. The shopkeeper looked at both women, reduced the price and added a bracelet. Lili accepted with the dignity of someone who had just completed an international trade agreement.
Then Jessie found the famous Thai elephant trousers.
They were black, light, loose and far more comfortable than anything she had packed. She changed behind the stall and stepped out wearing them with the first top she could find.
Lili examined the combination.
Jessie: Well?
Lili: The trousers are right.
Jessie: And the top?
Lili: The top has committed a separate crime.
She handed Jessie a cream silk halter. It crossed at the front, tied behind the neck and left her midriff open. Jessie changed again.
Lili: Better.
Jessie: You could say I look good.
Lili: I said better. Do not become greedy.
They left the stall carrying one bag, three bracelets, a second halter neither of them remembered buying and the original shirt folded into a plastic bag.
The Photographer
They reached the beach boulevard late in the afternoon. The sun had softened, the road remained busy and the sea looked calmer than anything happening on the pavement beside it.
Jessie spotted a backpacker standing near the railing with a camera.
Jessie: Excuse me, could you take a photo of us?
He was Australian, tall, sun-browned and carrying the kind of backpack that suggested he had been travelling for either six weeks or six years. His name was Ryan.
Ryan: Sure. Together first?
Jessie: Individually. She will complain about the angle otherwise.
Lili: You asked him.
Ryan photographed Jessie first. She stood against the sea, short hair moving in the wind, cream halter catching the last of the sun. He took three quick shots and handed the camera back for approval.
Then Lili stepped forward.
The white shirt, silk bandana and pale jeans looked as though they had been designed for that exact stretch of beach. Ryan took one photograph, then another.
Ryan: Lower your arm a little.
Lili: Why?
Ryan: It is covering the knot.
Jessie watched from a few metres away and smiled. The knot was visible. Ryan was framing Lili’s waist, and everyone except Lili appeared to understand this.
He asked her to turn slightly. Then to look away from the camera. Then to stop posing entirely.
Ryan: Make a silly face.
Lili: I do not have one.
Jessie: That is her silly face.
Lili laughed, and Ryan captured the photograph he wanted.
A second backpacker appeared while Ryan was showing them the pictures. He introduced himself as Ben. He was American, travelling with Ryan, and he directed most of his attention toward Jessie within the first thirty seconds.
Ben: Are you both staying nearby?
Jessie: Maybe.
Ben: Is that a yes?
Jessie: It is a maybe with excellent pronunciation.
Lili moved toward the railing to give Jessie room. She looked amused. Jessie had spent the afternoon insisting the local trousers were comfortable. They had now acquired an American admirer as a secondary feature.
A Moon and a Missing Diamond
The women continued toward the street-food market as evening arrived. Lili retied her gold bandana at the back of her head and folded the waistband of her jeans outward. The lighter reverse denim created a narrow band around her hips and lowered the waist enough to expose more of her abdomen.
Jessie: Those jeans are going to keep moving.
Lili: They are secure.
Jessie: That answer came very quickly.
Near the end of the market they found a temporary tattoo stall. Sheets of stars, flowers, moons and butterflies covered the wall.
Lili stopped.
Jessie: No.
Lili: I said nothing.
Jessie: Your entire body said something.
Ten minutes later, a small crescent moon sat low on the left side of Lili’s abdomen, almost touching the folded denim. Jessie chose a temporary diamond stud for her navel.
They stood before the stall’s mirror examining the results.
Jessie: Mine looks expensive.
Lili: Yours cost less than a mango.
Jessie: The mirror does not know that.
The diamond disappeared before midnight.
Jessie noticed at a rooftop hotel bar while holding a cocktail. She looked down, stared at her bare navel and then looked at Lili.
Jessie: It is gone.
Lili: What is gone?
Jessie: My diamond.
Lili: Your seven-dollar inheritance?
They laughed so hard that a couple at the next table moved their drinks.
Then Jessie stopped laughing.
Jessie: Oh my God, L. Look who is here.
Ryan and Ben were standing across the bar. Neither had noticed them yet.
Lili adjusted her bandana. The movement lifted her tied shirt slightly. She slipped both hands into her front pockets, pulling the folded jeans lower without thinking. Jessie called Ryan’s name.
Both men turned.
Ryan recognized Lili first.
Ryan: The difficult model.
Lili: The photographer who gives too many instructions.
Ben: And the woman who never answered my question.
Jessie: I answered. You disliked the answer.
They joined the men’s table. One drink became two. The music grew louder. Ben and Jessie moved toward the dance floor while Lili and Ryan stayed near the table pretending to continue a conversation neither could hear.
Ryan leaned closer.
Ryan: I liked the last photograph.
Lili: The silly one?
Ryan: The one where you forgot I had a camera.
Across the floor, Jessie and Ben had abandoned conversation entirely. Their faces moved closer, paused for half a second and met.
Lili noticed.
Lili: That was fast.
Ryan: Ben likes efficiency.
Lili: Jessie likes making bad decisions quickly.
Jessie returned several minutes later holding Ben’s hand.
Jessie: We are heading down to the room.
Lili: Our room?
Jessie: Enjoy yourselves. The night is young.
She winked at Lili and pulled Ben toward the elevator.
For the first time that evening, Lili and Ryan were alone.
The Australian
They moved to a quieter corner of the rooftop where the music arrived as a distant pulse. The city stretched below them in lights and traffic. Ryan placed his drink on the railing.
Ryan: Your friend has left you without a room.
Lili: Temporarily.
Ryan: I have a room.
Lili: That is very useful information.
He smiled. Lili stepped closer.
The first kiss was careful. The second had already stopped asking questions. She rested one hand against his chest while his arm settled around her waist. The folded denim, the small moon, the heat and the ridiculous gold bandana had somehow become part of one decision.
They entered Ryan’s room hand in hand.
Inside the living room, Lili removed her sandals and left them beside the sofa. Ryan brought her water. She set it down unopened. They kissed again, slower now, with the balcony curtains moving behind them and Pattaya still glowing through the glass.
Lili looked once toward the bedroom, then back at him.
Lili: Your room is quieter than the rooftop.
Ryan: Give it time.
She laughed, took his hand and led him out of the living room.
The bedroom door closed. Pattaya continued outside without them.
Noon Means Morning
Lili returned to her hotel room the next morning and opened the door as quietly as possible.
Jessie was alone in bed.
Lili had taken three steps when Jessie sat up wearing a sleeping sports bra and an expression that had been waiting for her.
Lili: I thought you were with Ben.
Jessie: We did nothing. He was too drunk and passed out.
Lili: You brought him here to sleep?
Jessie: Apparently I run a hostel now. Where were you?
Lili removed her bandana and placed it on the dresser.
Jessie: Lili.
Lili: Ryan’s room.
Jessie: I guessed that part.
Jessie asked about protection. Lili’s silence answered before she did.
Jessie: All the condoms were here with Ben.
Lili: I know.
Jessie: And?
Lili: I calculated the timing.
Jessie: Your cycle is a calendar, not security.
Lili knew. The choice had felt different at three in the morning. Most choices do.
She showered, changed into a sports-bra pyjama top and silk sleeping shorts, and climbed into bed beside Jessie. They woke again at noon.
Bling Bling
Day two began with another outfit negotiation.
Lili chose a patterned Thai-silk triangle halter she had bought at the night market. It tied behind her neck and across her back. She folded and pinned the lower half until the front formed a straight line above her abdomen, then paired it with slightly flared jeans, blue sandals and a red bandana.
She turned around.
Lili: How does the back look?
Jessie: Dangerous.
Lili: That is vague.
Jessie: It means leave it exactly like that.
They walked to the food market for brunch, stopped before a noodle stall and spent too long deciding between two bowls that were nearly identical.
Lili found another tattoo stall before they finished eating.
Jessie: You already have one.
Lili: The moon needs a star.
Jessie: Of course it does.
The artist placed a small star above the crescent, joining them into one design. Lili added two gold bracelets, bought the same halter in turquoise, changed into it behind the stall and found a belly chain at the next shop.
Jessie watched the accessories accumulate.
Jessie: Today you are going bling bling.
Lili: I bought three things.
Jessie: You are wearing six.
At a piercing shop, a young Thai piercer placed a temporary crystal stud at Lili’s navel. She examined it in the mirror, bought it and announced that she would keep it for one day.
Jessie gave the stud two hours.
One Hour Only
Later that afternoon, another backpacker approached Lili while Jessie stood several metres away pretending to inspect bracelets.
His name was Theo. He was travelling alone, staying at a nearby hotel and clearly interested. Lili gave him her number.
He messaged an hour later.
Jessie saw Lili read the message for the sixth time.
Jessie: You’re still smiling at his message.
Lili: I’m not smiling.
Jessie: Lili, you’ve read it six times. The rooftop pool bar is right there. Go see him.
Lili: Now?
Jessie: Yes, now. I’ll go shopping nearby and give you some privacy.
Lili: You’re abandoning me?
Jessie: I’m creating an opportunity. Big difference.
Lili: Jessie…
Jessie: Go! He’s waiting.
Lili: Fine. Give me one hour only.
Jessie: One hour. Of course.
Lili: I mean it. One drink, and then I’ll meet you.
Jessie: Absolutely. A strictly timed, completely innocent drink.
Lili: Stop!
Jessie: Message me if your one-hour appointment needs an extension.
Lili: It won’t.
Jessie: You’re blushing again.
Lili: Go shopping, Jessie.
Jessie: Gladly. Have fun, L.
Lili met Theo at the bar. She was shy for the first five minutes, serious for the next ten and laughing by the time the drinks arrived.
Exactly one hour later, Jessie sent a message.
Jessie: Alive?
Lili wanted to stay. She looked at Theo, looked at the message and stood.
Lili: I should go back to my friend.
Theo: I thought I was doing well.
Lili: You were.
She shook his hand as if they had concluded a meeting. Theo laughed.
Theo: That is the most formal rejection I have ever received.
Lili: It is temporary.
At the night food market, Lili found Jessie wearing an entirely new outfit: a gold-and-cream bandana, a fitted cropped top and olive trousers she had bought while waiting.
Lili: You went shopping for one hour.
Jessie: I work efficiently.
After dinner, Theo invited Lili to a late-night rave.
Lili: He wants me to meet him tonight.
Jessie: Go.
Lili: I already left him once.
Jessie: Then stop leaving him.
The Rave
The venue was dark, crowded and loud enough to rearrange internal organs. Lili entered alone and moved through the crowd looking for Theo.
She found him near the side of the dance floor.
Neither spoke.
He reached for her. She stepped into him. They kissed as though the interrupted rooftop drink had continued without the missing hours.
Later, Lili sent Jessie a message.
Lili: I’m spending the night at his hotel. I have protection this time.
Jessie: I appreciate the operational update.
Lili: Goodnight.
Jessie: I doubt it.
They left the rave after midnight, still touching each other whenever the crowd forced them apart.
At Theo’s hotel door, Lili leaned against the wall while he searched for the key card.
Lili: You are taking too long.
Theo: You are distracting me.
The lock finally flashed green. Lili entered first, turned and pulled him inside by the front of his shirt.
The door closed behind them. Her one-hour appointment received a considerable extension.
The Hottest Day
On the third day, both women woke late. The heat had become unreasonable, even by Pattaya standards.
They chose shorts.
Lili wore pale distressed denim shorts, a fitted halter and yellow wooden-soled slides with a small heel. Jessie wore black distressed shorts, a sporty swimsuit top, green wooden-soled slides and a gold-and-cream bandana. Both applied lotion to their legs before leaving.
Jessie: Are we going to brunch or auditioning for something?
Lili: It is dry outside.
Jessie: You have been applying that for ten minutes.
At a clothing stall, they bargained with the owner over two tops and a pair of shorts. Jessie smiled. Lili leaned against the counter. The owner reduced the price before either woman named one.
Jessie: We are improving.
Lili: We did nothing.
Jessie: Exactly.
A Thai trans woman standing nearby laughed. She was elegant, confident and introduced herself as Mali. Her friend Pim was petite and quieter, watching Lili with a shy smile.
Mali: You two bargain like professionals.
Jessie: We accept compliments.
Lili: She accepts them for both of us.
Mali asked where they were going that evening. Lili answered before Jessie could.
Lili: We have drinks at our hotel.
Mali: Is that an invitation?
Lili: It can be.
Her attention had already moved toward Pim.
Lili: Bring your friend.
Mali: I was planning to.
The Convenience Store Conference
Lili and Jessie stopped at a convenience store to buy drinks, ice, water and several snacks chosen without any relationship to one another.
Jessie placed two bottles in the basket and looked at Lili.
Jessie: So this is happening?
Lili: They are coming for drinks.
Jessie: You invited two beautiful women to our hotel room at night.
Lili: There will be drinks.
Jessie: I am curious.
Lili: About Mali?
Jessie: About myself.
Lili placed a bag of chips in the basket and allowed Jessie to continue.
Jessie: You already know you are attracted to women. I have never tested the question.
Lili: You do not need an answer tonight.
Jessie: I know. I still want to see what happens.
Jessie studied her friend.
Jessie: Did you take Molly at the rave?
Lili stopped moving.
Lili: Yes.
Jessie: You never told me.
Lili: I wanted my head to stop for a few hours. I thought I needed it.
Jessie held her gaze for a moment.
Jessie: Next time, tell me.
Lili: I will.
They paid and returned to the hotel.
Mali and Pim
Lili tied her hair into a ponytail and added her red bandana. They moved chairs, cleared the table and arranged the drinks with far greater care than any hotel-room gathering required.
The knock came twenty minutes later.
Mali entered first, wearing a silk top and fitted trousers. Pim followed in a simple dress, holding a small bag with both hands. Lili opened the door wider.
Lili: You came.
Mali: You sound surprised.
Jessie: She has spent an hour pretending this is casual.
The pairings formed quickly. Mali sat beside Jessie and began asking about Shanghai. Pim stood near the balcony with Lili, quieter at first, then laughing as Lili described the lost diamond stud.
Pim: You kept the tattoo?
Lili: It will fade.
Pim: You sound disappointed.
Lili: Maybe a little.
Lili removed her slides and then her red bandana. Across the room, Mali slipped an arm around Jessie’s waist. Jessie looked toward Lili. Lili raised one eyebrow. Jessie answered with the smallest nod.
Pim moved closer.
Lili: Come with me.
She took Pim’s hand and led her toward the bedroom. Jessie and Mali remained in the living room.
Inside the bedroom, Lili closed the door halfway. The city lights entered through the curtains, leaving narrow bands across the bed.
Pim sat beside her. Lili touched her face, then kissed her. Pim’s nervousness softened as Lili drew her closer.
From the living room came a burst of laughter, then silence.
Pim: Your friend seems comfortable.
Lili: She learns quickly.
Lili reached back and closed the door the rest of the way.
The bedroom disappeared from the story for a while.
In the living room, Mali stood before Jessie and held out her hand.
Mali: Still curious?
Jessie looked toward the closed bedroom door, then placed her hand in Mali’s.
Jessie: Very.
Mali pulled her up from the sofa. Jessie’s gold-and-cream bandana slipped slightly as they kissed.
The drinks remained on the table. The ice melted. Nobody complained.
The Debrief
Later, after Mali and Pim had left, Lili and Jessie sat barefoot in the living room wearing hotel robes. The table looked as though the party had been interrupted by a minor weather event.
Jessie: So.
Lili: So.
Jessie: I understand several things now.
Lili: Are you going to list them?
Jessie: Eventually.
Lili smiled into her drink.
Jessie: You were right about the outfit.
Lili: Which outfit?
Jessie: All of them. Do not make me repeat it.
They began laughing again. It started quietly and became uncontrollable, the kind that hurt their stomachs and produced no explanation worth giving.
Leaving Pattaya
The next day they packed for the airport.
At reception, Ryan was waiting. He had several more days in Pattaya. Lili had a flight.
Ryan: I thought you might leave without saying goodbye.
Lili: I considered it.
He kissed her in the hotel lobby while Jessie stood near the luggage pretending to study her phone.
Lili: I hope I see you again.
Ryan: You will.
Lili: And do not break too many hearts while you are still here.
Ryan: How many is acceptable?
Lili: Fewer than Ben.
At the airport, Lili struggled with her carry-on in the aisle. Reaching for the overhead compartment lifted her shirt enough to reveal the fading moon and star. A man in the aisle seat stood and helped her place the bag.
Lili: Thank you.
Man: No problem. Pattaya?
Lili: Is it that obvious?
She adjusted her shirt and sat beside Jessie.
Jessie: It is extremely obvious.
At baggage claim, they counted the trip.
Jessie: I kissed Ben and Mali.
Lili: I kissed Ryan, Theo and Pim.
Jessie: You win.
Lili: It was not a competition.
Jessie: You still won.
Jessie asked whether the tattoo had survived. Lili lifted the edge of her shirt. The crescent and star remained low on her abdomen, faded around the edges and still visible.
Jessie: Pattaya refuses to leave.
Lili: Give it a few days.
The Clothes Came Home
Back at her apartment, Lili unpacked the market purchases and began trying them on again.
The first outfit was a blue-and-white striped cropped top with ivory linen trousers. The second was the turquoise silk halter. Then she found the pale baggy jeans with the folded waistband.
Jessie arrived without warning and brought Jason with her.
Lili opened the door wearing the striped crop top and low linen trousers. Jason had known her for months and had never seen her dressed that way.
Jason: I thought you never wore crop tops.
Lili: I got used to them in Pattaya. They are comfortable.
Jessie: Comfortable is her new word for showing her belly button.
In the living room, Jessie pointed out the faded tattoo.
Jessie: What do you think?
Jason: It suits her.
Lili: Nobody asked for a review.
Jessie: I did.
Lili changed into the turquoise halter and removed the temporary stud. Jessie asked her to turn around to show the ties. Lili did. Then Jessie suggested the folded Pattaya jeans because they showed the tattoo better.
That was her stated reason.
Lili returned wearing them and turned around before either visitor could ask.
Lili: I know what you are both waiting for.
Jessie: I was going to ask about the back.
Lili: Of course you were.
Jason smiled. Jessie looked pleased with herself. Lili caught her reflection in the window: turquoise silk, pale denim, a faint moon and star, and the same woman who had arrived in Pattaya several days earlier carrying sensible clothes.
The sensible clothes had barely survived the first afternoon.